2015 Senior Bowl: South Practice Observations (Day Three)

Not only was Norfolk State’s Lyndon Trail making plays at OLB, he lined up at TE today.

NEPD Editor: Mike Loyko

After a lackluster practice on Wednesday, the action really picked up today. The Jaguars coaching staff orchestrated a competitive, intensity, and exciting practice session with a ton of 1-on-1 battles. The session even consisted of a player mimicking Patriots TE Rob Gronkowski after he scored a touchdown. As the competition ramped up, some players elevated their games, and some came up short. These are the observations from the final South Session.

1) TCU CB Kevin White really stood out in full speed, competitive pass drills today. Every time he was challenged he made it difficult on the receiver to catch the ball cleanly and even when he was beaten, White was within inches of breaking up the pass. He’s extremely quick, can get out his peddle, and sticks to the hip of receivers. I think White has moved into the day two mix of the draft.

2) Mississippi State DE Preston Smith made it difficult for the offense to get plays off at times on Thursday. He was extremely effective at creating disruption during team drills. Smith has the size to play in any scheme or defensive front. On one play he create pressure by shooting the inside gap and on the next play he won to the outside with power. Smith is backing up his in-season performance down here in Mobile.

3) Miami(FL) TE Clive Walford continued his stellar play today, especially in the red zone. He was by far the toughest Tight End to cover in the red area using his combination of size, length, and quickness to beat man coverage. One two occasions he imitated Patriots TE Rob Gronkowski with emphatic spikes. That led to all the other players getting hyped up and upped the intensity of the session.

4) Ole Miss Safety Cody Prewitt looked sharp in Red Zone coverage drills. His instincts were once again on display reading the Quarterbacks eyes, getting a quick jump on the ball, and breaking up multiple passes. He probably won’t test real well at the combine, but there is no denying he has some great instincts in over the top coverage. To be honest, I didn’t expect him to look this good in this setting and he’s really turned my head.

5) In one of the craziest developments of the week Norfolk State OLB Lynden Trail actually took reps at Tight End at one point in today’s practice. Trail is the type of physical talent both offensive and defensive coordinators drool over. He didn’t look out of place during TE drills and you can understand why scouts wanted to see him take part in some drills. His size and athleticism would present real problems for smaller LBs and Safeties. Five minutes after playing TE, Trail moved back to OLB in 7-on-7 and promptly intercepted a pass.

6) Not an “on-field” note, but something that has caught my attention this week. I’ve been really impressed by Sammie Coates maturity, character, and how he handles himself in general. Coates graduated early and vowed to his father (who has since passed away) that one day he’d play in the Senior Bowl. Being from Alabama this game meant a lot to his family and if Coates didn’t graduate early he was prepared to go back to school, so he’d be eligible for the game next year. Coates has done every single media request made of him and seems to have a really good head on his shoulders. I think the perception of Coates is something different nationwide, but he’s a tremendous individual.

7) On the field Coates showcased a few skills he can bring to the NFL immediately. Coates and QB Blake Sims connected on a back-shoulder throw in which he elevated high above the smaller CB to reel in the touchdown. It’s clear Coates athleticism is on a different level and he should be able to make those types of plays as a rookie next year.

8) We know Georgia Tech OG Shaq Mason will struggle in pass protection and other techniques he just wasn’t asked to play at Georgia Tech, but he stood out to me today on the offensive line. Mason was able to get underneath a few DL and literally press them off the line of scrimmage. One rep imparticular stands out to me and that was vs. Grady Jarrett. Mason stayed low got his hands extended and jacked Jarrett up off his feet. For a roundish OG measuring just over 6’0″ it’s nice to see him play with that leverage and strength.

A few other notes:

– Many Scouts think Alabama OG Arie Kouandjio will be a better NFL player than his brother Cyrus.

– Tyler Locket body catches the ball too much for me. He’s a tremendous football player, but I’d like to see him use his hands more often.

– La’El Collins took reps at Left Guard today with Ty Sambrailo moving to his natural Left Tackle position. I hope this is something we get to see in the game on Saturday.

– Florida Atlantic CB D’Joun Smith was another CB that made plays in 1-on-1 drills. Unfortunately he got injured on a play in which he intercepted a Bryan Bennett pass.

– One guy I haven’t got to watch a lot of this week is UCF Safety Clayton Geathers, but he made a number of plays in the back of the end zone during red zone drills. We took some film of the WR/DB drills today and he’s someone I’m definitely going to focus in on more.

Steve: You have connected the dots on “Vendettagate”. Tampering charges were filed January 18th. No ruling yet. Jets were ” in” on the sting with the NFL, Ravens and Colts. Media is starting to change their tune after fanning the fire with false reports. Its now coming out that the intercepted ball was the only ball under inflated by 2 psi. other 10 were under by 1psi or less. Colts equip manager let some air out of the intercepted ball is my guess. Goddell must go! Pats win Superbowl and get their revenge afterwards as well. Go Pats!

Yea I was aware of the charges filed back on the 18th but with the BS covering the story sense thought I might have missed something. I can buy into your theroy that Colts let some air out of that one ball. If 10 were under by 1psi or less that would fit the science of going from hot to cold. Thanks for the update Joe.

A bigger concern would be how soon did they measure the footballs upon entering the locker room at halftime? If they did it right away, they would be under inflated because the air molecules inside the football would still be at the outside temperature. They would need to sit for probably an hour for the inside air molecules to be at what BB called equilibrium; meaning the same conditions they were/were not measured at before the game after sitting inside for the day/week. Huge difference in psi!

I would say the NFL has some ‘splaining to do about their process or lack thereof for ensuring footballs are within the required range.

After that:
1 Bill Nye should jump off a bridge,
2 Troy Aikman, Tim Hasselbeck and Mark Brunnell should be fired,
3 Don Shula needs to be locked in isolation at the funeral home,
4 Ray Lewis should look in the mirror,
5 ESPN should be renamed PHN; Patriots haters network

sreve Source was a leak to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk: 10 of 11 footballs were under inflated by 1 psi or less. Its now called “Crapgate”. All 24 footballs were approved by refs and given to attendant 10 minutes prior to game. Talk is the refs cannot prove if balls were gaged. My guess is they were not tested with a gauge. My second guess is that the attendant was thoroughly questioned by Pats brass as to if he tampered with the footballs when he ducked into the bathroom for 90 seconds. Bathroom visit not on tape, ducking in with footballs was on tape. Pats gave tape to league office. Kraft’s support of Belichick yesterday following this info. was revealing in that Kraft must have a good knowledge base that the footballs were not deflated by the attendant. They must have grilled the attendant to the max. Hopefully the apology Kraft mentioned will include restitution in the form of a draft pick.On to the game…Pats come up with some wrinkle: Collins at Tight End and takes out Sherman early in Q1! Pats rush 8 to contain Wilson and rely on DBs to handle Seattle receivers? Pats slot receivers eat up Seattle’s nickel backs? Go Pats!

Okay, thanks Joe needed that as a friend is writing a Letter to the Editor to local paper up here and wanted to know the source.
I’m sure BB will be pulling out all the stops for this one and will be using all this BS as motivation. All I worry about is does Goodall’s job hang on the NEED to find the Pat’s guilty of something/anything?

Way to go Joe! Verbal bitch slap the sob’s, Lol. Seriously La’el Collens would be good as would Kouandjio in your 2nd. I’m just concerned they won’t last to those spots but if they should your a genious. Arik Armstrong in the 3rd I like too. Wonder if you would consider moving Solder inside with a reworked extension or do you consider him not worth it? We will still be one OG short. Also I would like to keep both McCourty, Chung and Revis while adding Drummond if we can fit them all under the cap. I think realisticly everyone after that is fine but not indespensable as would be all prospects in those ranges.
I like to go for what I consider sure things in my first two rounds, day one starters if you will and I think you did too. In my mock I went “pure OG’s” for which I took a little grief, but that’s okay and I’m sticking with it at least until after the combine when the picture will be a little clearer. Anyway good job Joe.

CB/S – incase of Revis leaving and just depth in general
one player who could fit this is Ladarius Gunter he reminds me a lot of Browner – he’s tall and physical.

Other positions could be:

WR – need another tall wideout to help out LaFell/Gronk
I think either Devin Funchess or Dorial Green-Beckham would be a good pickup. Both probably will go high (late first/early second) but if DGB falls due to his character concerns he would be a great pickup. Funchess is 6’5 and can play TE but is better at receiver and can take the hits down the middle while DGB is 6’6 but is a more outside, lanky WR.

OLB/DE(hybrid player) – someone similar to Collins, need more than just 3 players

For someone who can rush the passer, Nate Orchard would be a good pick he is too short to play DE at 6’3 but he showed he can play OLB and still rush the passer at the Senior Bowl. His 18.5 sacks prove that he is a sack monster.

If the pats want to grab someone high – Dante Fowler or Bud Dupree, one of them will fall to the bottom half of the First Round. Personally Fowler seems to be the better fit as he has play with Easley at Florida and is capable of covering at OLB and also rushing the passer from OLB and DE. However both of these players will go in the first so trading up for the falling one will be necessary.

OL – one of the most important positions for us
Cam Erving is the most patriot like. He can play all across the line but would most likely play guard for the pats as we have Stork(the man he replaced at center) and tackles all ready set. He would be an upgrade over Wendell and give the patriots more size at the guard spot, something they went after last year with Stork, Fleming and even Halapio. Erving would greatly help the line while giving Belichick some versatility.

Obviously coming up with a mock draft right now is quite hard, especially with the patriots, although I predicted the Easley pick last year in December. I do believe these positions will be what the patriots do look to grab and maybe a TE, although a tall WR would also be suitable.

I think CB/S is only a worry if Revis or McCourty leaves the fold. If they stay, our coverage team is incredible. I’m not going to project corners/coverage safeties to us unless they leave. However, a punishing safety who could play up near the line of scrimmage seems like a strong investment to me. I do see some options at this position outside of SS Collins, as he will quickly be snapped up. Anthony Harris in the 2nd, Jaquiski Tartt in the 3rd, or Ibraheim Campbell in the 4th all make sense.

With LaFell at 6’3″ and Gronk at 6’6″, I disagree that height is a priority when considering the addition of a WR through the draft. I think that the wide receiver should be 6′ or taller, but I don’t think that we need to grab Beckham or Funchess. Some other options would be Jaelen Strong in the 1st, Rashad Greene in the 2nd, Vince Mayle in the 3rd, Austin Hill in the 4th or Antwan Goodley in the 5th. I think that this draft will be very deep through 3 rounds at wide receiver, so a pick on the first two days could be a great investment.

I agree that we need a dynamic pass rusher and Orchard fits the bill. I would be very excited if we grabbed him first. However, this team could also use a run-stopping linebacker. This Brandon Spikes role is not necessary if we have Mayo in the lineup, but this year is proof that we can’t rely on that. Another big guy in the middle will help.

I want to see an offensive lineman picked by the Pats on the first two days. Erving sounds like a great fit. I think we really want a powerful guy on the line to power our run game, as a big push early opns up running lanes. Enough last-resort, late-round picks: grab a difference-maker early.

Based on all of this, here is the least specific mock possible: a pass rusher, offensive lineman and wide receiver in some order in the first 3 rounds, and then a safety and big linebacker as well as depth picks later in the draft. Because the Patriots have so few needs and the potential for comp picks, I fully expect them to trade up at least once for a falling player at one of our positions of need.

IMO the biggest areas of need are probably depth and/or starters on the interior OLine and LB. Connolly is a FA next year, although Kline seems to have stabilized a bit lately. On the LB front, Mayo will need to take a shave on that cap number and redo his contract and Casillas is a FA next year.

As for the secondary, they need McCourty. They could get by, however painful it would be without Revis. Ryan seems to be getting better, but Dennard has fallen off the map.

At WR we still have Dobson if he can stay healthy. He is about the same size as LaFell. Not sure where Boyce fits in, but he is one of the practice players of the year for what that’s worth.

I completely agree with you about the OL. However, I think that with Hightower, Mayo and Collins our linebacker need is more about depth and that need should be eschewed until the 4th round or even later. Since we don’t need the player we pick to start immediately, why use an early pick on an LB?

I could see taking the best player available (WR, RB, CB), what have you, if our starting lineup was all set and stable but we all know that isn’t the case. Connolly is a FA after the SB, he’s 32 going into next season and it remaines to be seen if Bill resigns him. I view Windell as a great backup at G/C but very avg starter. Here is the bigest area of need imo and is a must for improvement.

But it seems in the last few years they have brought in a bunch of FA’s at these positions we think are a priority, not saying they were great FA’s but he brought in LaFell, Browner and Chung and a few that were sent packing. But brining in those FA’s allowed them to be able to go after great, athletic football players and not pressured to draft a certain position. Look at the ‘Fins, most of their draft was of OLinemen up and down the board. If they don’t work out they will be at least 2-3 years behind building that OLine.

True about Miami but you basing your argument on if’s and maybe’s. And while true BB has brought in some good FA’s that fill needs he has also missed on some. Nothing is certain in FA’s or the draft. Right now we only have the certainty that a draft is coming and the prospects. We know there will be a periord for signing FA’s, ours and or others but that is far less clear. We do not know if BB will be signing any FA or not. We do know he will be drafting players and sense this is a site dedicated to the draft it’s reasonable to approach it from that perspective. If and when FA’s are signed we can modify or change our mocks but for now lets just stick with what we know.

OLine needs a top notch G as Connolly is a FA and better depth,
half the RB’s are UFA’s
1 big WR that can play another that is always hurt
3 small WR’s, one of which is really good
1 elite TE, 3 not so much
2 DE’s that do not come off the field another that is a UFA
no LB depth, but 3 really good ones
a good mix at DB, with an indispensable S as a FA

That would lead me to believe that priorities are as follows:
OLine
LB
DE
TE
WR
Equipment Manager

Ladarius Gunter out of Miami(FL) is a punishing corner at 6’2 in the mold of Browner. Although I don’t feel that he can cover 1v1 as well as Browner and therefore would be better at the strong safety spot. If we feel this is a bigger need, Gerod Holliman out of Louisville would be a good fit. Had a FBS record 14 ints last season at the SS spot.

As for receivers I do believe it is a position of need unless Dobson turns it around. We cannot rely on 3 receivers with only LaFell over 6 feet, as good as Gronk is he is a TE. Jaelen Strong, who is a tall receiver at 6’4, will definitely not fall out of the first and most likely won’t even make it to the 31/32 pick. DGB or Funchess both have a higher chance of being available in our range with DGB possibly falling to Day 3 due to his character concerns. A big wideout who can go down the field would be ideal as LaFell is more of a possession receiver across the middle. w

Cam Erving would be a great fit and I certainly wouldn’t mind taking him in the first as OL is one of our positions of need, not just for depth but we need to upgrade the line asap.

Nate Orchard might just climb his way out of our draft range but if we do trade down he would be a great pick in the early 2nd. Although now, I do think we need a run-stopper if Mayo keeps getting injured.

The draft will become much clearer once the compensatory picks are given(maybe a 3rd for Talib and a 6/7 for Spikes). Also we have the first pick of Day 3 from the Bucs through the Mankins deal.

We have a lot of flexibility with this draft with a good amount of picks and minimal needs, mostly depth plus we can’t forget about Free Agency, we struck gold last year with Revis, Browner and LaFell. Sure we may not get All-Pro talent like Revis again but its the LaFell’s that will but the team over the top.

I don’t agree that Dorial Green-Beckham will be available when we pick in the first round. His talent is insane and so is his build, and I don’t really see him being available when we pick unless the character concerns become immense, in which case I have to wonder whether it’s wise to spend a 1st rounder on him. Under no circumstances save injury do I see him dropping to us in round 2.

Devin Funchess, on the other hand, should be under heavy consideration for our first pick. He is new to the position of WR but he has a tremendous build and undeniable talent. I think he is the man to target in the first round unless he surpasses Jaelen Strong, at which point we would go for a Strong instead.

Doral Green-Beckham has the talent to be the best receiver in this draft and just based on skill should be T5. However character concerns will be huge especially considering Josh Gordon and his troubles. Gonna get suspended for the season after failing another drug test today.

Even in the second round talent like DGB would be a steal but he most likely he will go in the mid 3rd, just like the Honey Badger. He won’t fall to Day 3, he’s way too talented but who knows thats why the draft is so great.

Jaelen Strong is 100% not falling out of the 1st. The seahawks could take him or even the Broncos especially if Demaryius leaves. Im not really to high on Sammie Coates either so if Strong’s not available I think they should trade down or look at a different position

I do have an issue with picking two receivers in the first 3 or even first 4 rounds of the draft. We will struggle to keep them on the roster and they will be snatched off our practice squad, so I firmly believe that we should only use one pick on a wide receiver early on in the draft.

I think it’s very possible we trade into an earlier pick in the second round while keeping our late second round pick. I definitely agree that OL should come first as a true need, but the depth of quality receivers with a 2nd-3rd round grade in this draft should not be ignored by the Pats come draft day.

Ryan, if you watched the East/West shrine game, OG John Brown from Louisville was one of the best linemen in game and in the country and is projected in 2nd or 3rd rd. Ryan you don’t pick OGs in the 1st rd. it just won’t happen! These are my early picks ( Pre combine and pro days.) You are welcome to research my choices.

Am I correct that you are saying we trade down our 1st for a high 2nd plus xxx? Otherwise doubt we could move up very high in the 2nd without using our 2nd plus xxx. JH thinks OG’s will not be taken in the 1st rd and if that can be guanteed I’d go along with a trade down for something like a high (top 10) in 2nd plus perhaps a 4th this year and trade 5ths next. Nothing cast in stone with this but just for example. But JH seems to forget a few things, Zack Martin,Mike Iupati,Kyle Long,Jonathan Cooper,Kevin Zeitler,David DeCastro, Mike Pouncey and Brandon Albert. All OG’s taken in Rd ! in the past six drafts The only complete bust was Danny Watkins and that was a case of his heart not in the NFL. So I see no reason not to take a dominate OG at the bottom of the 1st round. It’s not like we’re talking a top 15 or something.

If Jamon Brown has a 2nd-3rd round grade we may not get him in the 3rd, as we will pick last or next to last. I think that if we wait until the end of the third round to draft an offensive lineman to protect Brady we may not see the best of him until Brady retires. That is why I would be much more comfortable picking up a tackle with guard potential or a guard with tackle potential (otherwise referred to as an OL) in the first or second round. However, I do agree that amazing talent like Justin Hardy at the WR position is worth picking up in the second round, so my favorite scenario so far is one in which we trade up for another 2nd round pick.

Sounds to me like the New England weather changed temp of ball. Great job BB speaking
about deflation of ball. Patriots should be awarded a 4th round draft pick for all this frustration
by league before such a huge game. At first I thought Mona Lisa Vetro was a old girlfriend of
BB but later I found out she was in my cousin vinneys movie still very funny reference.

We shouldn’t be trading down because we have few needs and potential comp picks and an offensive lineman is a definite need. For this reason, I would rather trade for future picks and potentially miss on a great WR class because our need there is questionable or trade up so that we are able to collect pass rusher, o-lineman and wide receiver in the first two rounds. We don’t have to choose between wants and needs this year; we are able to get both.

not a big fan, to be honest, steve. only players I like there are Cann and Drummond and possibly Tull late.
AK is a pure OG prospect in the NFL, making him a poor value in the 1st. While he looks like a better NFL prospect than his brother, he is still a player one probably doesn’t want to take earlier than the 3rd or in the Pats’ case, late 2nd. Even then it’s debatable he would be the best NFL OG left on the board. As far as I am concerned, AK simply doesn’t offer enough upside to be an early pick and I would rather delay taking an OG till later (4th rnd) instead of spending a valuable high pick on him. And I am sure you know my position on the importance of rebuilding the OL.

Another problem with taking AK in the 1st is that you are immediately after that taking another “pure” OG in the NFL in Cann. This doesn’t maximize pick value and additionally “wastes” a valuable pick (the Tampa pick) only to get you two pure OGs, without any positional flexibility to OT. Also, BB has never taken a “pure” OG in the 1st before. Yes, Mankins did end up playing at Lg but he had extensive work at OT in college and brought versatility with him neither AK nor even Cann (who I think is better than AK anyway) do.

And then comes in everyone’s BB-type-a-guy, DE extraordinaire Henry Anderson. He simply doesn’t have the tools to be a pass rusher in the NFL imo and seems to have confirmed that at the Senior Bowl. He lacks muscle mass and his his body-type is more on the softer-end, if you know what I mean, lacking in strength and explosiveness. Personally, I think he’d make for a better OT at the NFL level than a DT/DE. He’s a high-character guy but also the type of guy you take in the 6-th round range, not the 3rd. And I don’t think one needs to worry about his stock shooting up as it’s hard for me to see him blow up the combine or anything of the sort.
Not that bad a player, don’t get me wrong, just not that much value in picking in the 3rd.

Respect your 2 cents and honestly and you may be right BB may never take pure any o-line anything, ever. I’m not predicting, mearly projecting how to fill our most critical need which at this moment in time and for as far as we can see ahead is two OG’s that can hopefully start on day one. We need to protect Brady for as long and as best we can. Now I’m not locked in on Anderson though as I see it every DE prospect being mentioned for us in this range has some faults. I’d be open to a LB, inside or out, or even another o-linemen like an OT. Just not any great values here as this is not what I consider a deep draft. Looks like a crap shoot after mid 3rd. Besides after getting fed up with this deflategate BS for the past week I needed to put us back on a sane subject. Sorry I just got kind of pissed at all the media driven crap going around.

Just caught some of BB’s Saturday follow up press conference. Feel better as a Pats fan given the results of the Pat’s internal study conducted over the last two days. Its on the Refs to come clean now. They had custody of the Pats footballs from the 12.5 psi handoff until game time. My guess is that the Colts footballs were inflated at 13.5 or higher and unrubbed when handed to the zebras versus the Pat’s 12.5 psi rubbed up batch. That would explain why at halftime, the Pat’s footballs were below tolerance and the colts were in range. Explained by atmospheric conditions and not shenanigans. ENOUGH of this BS…another example of Goodell’s incompetence. Back to looking at Online and D-line and LB prospects during the first 3 rounds.

Yes sir your right. Goodell blows with whatever wind is loudest and the media Pat’s haters shreak like banshiees trying to excuse their own teams incompentances and ease their own frustrations. If this was such a big deal to begin with where has the NFL been for all the years before? Have they ever demanded officials put gages on all the balls rather then touch test them? No one has ever brought this kind of thing up before at any level in all my fifty plus years of watching football. It takes a special kind of crybaby to pull this out as an excuse for getting trounced after all the hype about Luck and the Colts being ready to take the next step and proved so very wrong. Back to the things that matter, the SB and then the draft.

Can’t get psyched up for the draft not knowing the extent of the deflategate penalty. My guess is that the shenanigans were achieved by using heated air to pump up the footballs, measured by the refs at 12.5 psi, then deflation magnified by the temperature change when taken outside. It would be great, as a Pats fan, to think our 12 footballs were from a bad batch of valve stems that leaked air. Wilson could confirm by the serial numbers and testing…wishful thinking though.If we lose a high draft pick or two, as a draftnic, l’ll be bummed.

I think your right on the money there Joe. I can’t think they inflated these balls outside it just wouldn’t make any sense. As for takingdraftpicke they would have to have evidence that it was done intentionally so unless BB and Brady are telling NFL investagators something different from what they told reporters they can’t. To punish a team without anything except accusations and opinions would be wrong, still were talking about Roger Goddell here.

I’ve had Prewitt on my short list of saf’s for weeks along with Kurtis Drummond and Derron Smith. One of these guys could be a nice addition in the 3rd round I think. I’m not discounting McCourty I’m saying beside him. A late round kid that intrests me is Kyshone Jarrett of Vir Tech. Smallish, 5-11 193 but hits pound for pound as well as any I’ve seen on tape. has good speed and range, returns kicks and even played RB at times. A nice prospect in the 6th or 7th?

Hello Steve E., i do believe it’s McCourty’s last season in Pat uniform, Chung got signed for 3yrs. that’s handwriting on the wall. I’ve liked Mich.St’s Drummond since last yr. but he stayed in school.

I wouldn’t go that far just yet, JHT. I don’t know if DMac is gonna be resigned to a long term deal but you’d expect he’d be at least as high a priority as Revis, if not higher. Plus, franchise-tagging a SAF is not as prohibitive as some other positions (OL, CB etc), which means DMac could well be seen as a priority in that regard too.

My best guess is, DMac would have to spend at least one more year playing for the Cheaters of the NFL, whether he likes it or not 😉

Doubt resigning Chung has anything to do with DMac situation, mate – a team needs more than one SAF, after all 🙂
Plus, Kurtis Drummond did NOT stay in school. He was at the Senior Bowl and even injured his hamstring during one of the practices, iirc.

I think BB remembers what the Safety position was back in 2011/2012; just look at that Seahawks game on NFL channel from 2011 when the final TD had Ebner & Wilson at the S positions.

McCourty brought big time stability to the backend; Revis and Browner brought attitude and elite play at the CB position. They can and have gotten by without a guy like Revis, but they absolutely need McCourty. I still remember that idiot Aikman saying the Pat’s would never get to the super bowl because they had the worst defense he has ever seen, then viola, they get to the super bowl.

Mike Loyko, very good report. They’re 2 sleepers at RB that are unique and intriguing because of their size and skillsets.
RB Tyler Varga- Yale 5’10 227 This kid is a jacked bowling ball that can pass protect, run block, and has nice hands out of the backfield.
Classified as a FB, he has good speed and nice cut back ability. Reminds me of a bigger Danny Woodhead.
FB/RB/H-Back Jalston Fowler-Alabama 5″11 264 At Alabama he was the lead blocker for Lacey and Yeldon. His versatility stands out as a pass catcher, blocker and a runner, at 264lbs. he has good speed.
I want to see him with ball in his hands in this game on saturday.

Now it may be the case that the ref’s may have “checked” out all the footballs by just squeezing and handling them and not actually put a pressure gauge to them before the game. Saw a report of a Bear’s ball boy that said he was in the room many times and that is all the ref’s did and there was a pressure gauge sitting nearby that went unused. Explains why the NFL “investigation” is dragging on, they probably cannot find any basis to the claims anyone cheated.

yeah, that may well be the case – often, balls may well be passed/signed off on the basis of a feel/eye test and not strictly checking the pressure in each one of them.

One could draw a similar conclusion from Aaron Rodgers’ statement in which he openly admitted to giving refs over-inflated balls in hopes they don’t notice. He would be doing that if wouldn’t benefit at least sometimes, if not most of the time, from it.

The inspection process seems to be anything but rigorous and uniform thuout the NFL. Probably depends on which ref crew is officiating a given game.

This and natural deflation occurring due to temp difference would make it very difficult to prove any wrong-doing beyond resonable doubt on part of the Pats.

Your right acm, the psi can surely be effected by tempture changes. If Brady filled the balls inside and set psi at the lower end of the rule then they went outside where it was 20-30 degrees colder, not out of the question at all. Can’t see where NFL can make a case.

There are a lot of things to consider after BB had his presser, of course. There is a lot of variability in:
pressure gauges (maybe up to 10% error)
footballs themselves (are they leaky?)
ambient conditions (temp’s, humidity and rain)
processes used to measure or not measure them.

Lump all of these together and I am surprised balls were only off by 1.5 psi. Remember, every time someone sticks the gauge in and for how long, those psssst sounds represent lost psi regardless of that idiot Mechanical engineer, the Science Guy.

Not to kill a dead horse, but now when the ref’s went to measure the footballs at the half time, if they ran in and measured them immediately they would absolutely be at less pressure than when measured two hours before the game. They would have to let the balls sit for an hour at least in order for the air molecules inside the ball to be at the same state of equilibrium as before the game.

My best guess; Goodell comes out and says the process is flawed and we need to establish better controls to ensure consistant parameters of ball pressure.